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A scene in the fifth episode of Hulu’s buzzy Pam & Tommy show depicted Motley Crüe’s Tommy Lee kicking Third Eye Blind out of a recording studio. Trouble is, according to Third Eye Blind singer Stephan Jenkins, this scene is entirely fictionalized and the encounter never even happened.

“Hey! Who the f*ck are you guys?” Tommy Lee (played by Sebastian Stan) says storming into the studio. “Third Eye Blind,” responds Stephan Jenkins (played by Jeffrey Conway.) Lee then leans back on the control room glass and says “Well I’ve got bad news for you, Third Eye Blind. Studio A is Mötley Crüe room” and lights up a cigarette.

Jenkins’s character tells Lee that the band was booked there for six weeks and it was set up by the label that they both shared, Elektra. It’s a hilarious portrayal of the pompous Tommy Lee in the Crüe’s heyday, at the expense of Third Eye Blind. But Jenkins tells Variety, that this indeed never happened:

“Mötley Crüe and I’ve never been in the same studio. I recorded my whole first album in Northern California. So we were across the state from each other at the very least.”

“I had never, in fact, listened to Mötley Crüe. I never even heard them. I actually saw Tommy Lee’s penis before I ever heard their band. I was like, ‘Well, good on ya, Tommy. Well done, lad.’ I literally had never heard them. But I somehow saw the sex tape. I’d also never seen ‘Baywatch.’ So I had never seen Pam or Tommy. That was my first introduction to them.”

You can’t help but laugh at how Jenkins says he “somehow” saw the sex tape. Heck, everybody in 1995 was trying to get their eyes on it, we get it. Jenkins, who said he hadn’t even seen the scene yet and didn’t know which actor played his role, asked Variety’s Michael Schneider if Tom Hardy portrayed him. Wishful thinking, but understandable.

Last summer, Kendrick Lamar made a rare appearance on social media, where he delivered a shocking announcement: He revealed that his upcoming fifth album would be his last under Top Dawg Entertainment. “As I produce my final TDE album, I feel joy to have been a part of such a cultural imprint after 17 years. The Struggles. The Success. And most importantly, the Brotherhood,” he wrote. “May the Most High continue to use Top Dawg as a vessel for candid creators.” During a recent interview with Mic, TDE’s president Terrence “Punch” Henderson spoke about Kendrick’s upcoming departure and what it means to him.

“I don’t even know if I would describe it that way as ready to leave, as more so ready to build his own thing,” Punch said. “That’s a grown man right now. We watched him grow from a teenager up into an established grown man, a businessman, and one of the greatest artists of all time. So how long do you actually be signed up under somebody? It’s been almost 20 years. So it’s time to move on and try new things and venture out.”

He continued, “He’s doing a great job developing Baby Keem. It’s always been there, but now it’s just time and space where he can actually do it. It’s a beautiful thing to watch because that’s something that started with what we built in the beginning. To see it blossom, it’s a full-circle moment.”

You can read Punch’s full interview with Mic, where he also discusses SZA, TDE as a whole, and more, here.

Nandi Bushell just might be one of the best drummers alive. Sure, this could definitely be an exaggeration, but given how young she is, and the number of rock stars she’s already collaborated with — Foo Fighters, Tom Morello and Arctic Monkeys to name a few — this assertion doesn’t feel too far-fetched. I mean, she even beat Dave Grohl in the faceoff that initially put the then ten-year-old Bushell on the map.

Speaking of maps, Bushell is a British girl herself, which means she’s got a special affinity for one of the country’s biggest pop stars — none other than Ed Sheeran. Since the British rock band Bring Me The Horizon recently decided to turn Ed’s latest jittery EDM single, “Bad Habits,” into a rocked out scream smash at the BRIT Awards, Bushell got a lot more interested in the song. Apparently, Ed and BMTH are going to be doing more work together, as he’s keen to get a bit more into their deathcore/metalcore sound, and maybe they’re down to go a little pop?

Anyway, inspired by the BMTH version of things, Bushell recorded herself adding some drum fills to the scream version. “I am #LOVING the collaboration between @edsheeran and @bmthofficial!” she wrote on Twitter. “Ed is a local #hero in #ipswich where I live! When I heard one of my favourite bands #BMTH, was collaborating with my local hero, I had to give their tune a go! #BadHabits #EdSheeran @olobersyko end scream.” Her enthusiasm is matched only by her playing, check out a clip of the Nandi x BMTH x Ed version below.

In case you hadn’t noticed, Avril Lavigne is going through a serious career resurgence. Following up her epic new single “Bite Me,” she’s prepping her new album, Love Sux, which is out next week, and shared another new collaboration with Black Bear, “Love It When You Hate Me.” But that’s not all this early pop-punk star has going on. Her breakout hit, “Sk8er Boi” had such staying cultural power that the ultimate Sk8er Boi Tony Hawk himself still wants to be involved with it, and there’s even a movie based on the song reportedly in the works.

However, that might all be about to pale in comparison to the power of the latest cultural force to get involved with “Sk8er Boi,” and that, my friends, is K-Pop. Pop-punk might be having a lovely resurgence, but K-Pop is basically the reigning force from here on out in the pop world. So when a member of the K-Pop group Tomorrow X Together, Hueningkai, decided to drop a pitch perfect cover of the song, all bets were suddenly off. For her part, Avril loved the cover of her hit, and thought Hueningkai did a great job. “Amazing cover!” she wrote on Twitter today, along with sharing the band’s tweet of their member’s new version.

Check out the new version up top, and maybe take a trip down memory lane and revisit the original below?

Following up the hip-hop extravaganza that was this year’s Super Bowl halftime show, another superstar crew got together for a second major sports event. Basketball fans don’t have to wait long after the biggest football game of the year is over to get their own fix, as the NBA’s annual All-Star weekend usually comes right after. And though this might be the first time the Super Bowl has ever fully embraced rap, that’s not the case for the NBA at all. The league has a much better relationship with hip-hop artists than the NFL has in recent history, so it’s no surprise that they booked a packed stage for 2022.

DJ Khaled returned for a third time to orchestrate the whole medley of performers, occasionally overstepping his bounds as an overeager hype man, and helped ring in sets from Lil Wayne, Lil Baby, Gunna, Ludacris, Migos, and even Mary J. Blige herself, who was the only performer involved in both of these massive sporting events. If that doesn’t cement her legendary status, at this point, I don’t know what will. Check out the whole performance above and get more of Uproxx’s NBA All-Star weekend coverage by following along with Dime Magazine.

In the lead-up to the dunk contest at the 2022 NBA All-Star weekend, Obi Toppin told Dime his plan of attack: “You got to get in tune with the crowd, and I feel like with the dunks that I have I feel like I’m going to do that.” While the competition was rather underwhelming from top to bottom, Toppin easily put on the best show. As a result, the New York Knicks big man outlasted Juan Toscano-Anderson, Cole Anthony, and Jalen Green to win this year’s competition.

Rounds 1 and 2

Jalen Green: 38, 45 (83 total)

The No. 2 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft ran over to Rockets teammate Josh Chrisopher and pulled out a chain with a phone playing an NFT of his own highlights prior to his first attempt. After running it over to a judge, Green headed to the baseline and struggled to figure out a dunk that would work. Ultimately, Green caught a lob from Christopher and threw down a windmill, but because of his numerous struggles to figure out a dunk, Green got a 38.

Green led off the second round of dunks with a bang, doing a 360 and going between the legs with his seemingly effortless bounce for a 45.

Cole Anthony: 40, 30 (70 total)

Anthony’s father, former NBA player Greg Anthony, came out with a bag prior to his first dunk. Anthony pulled out a pair of Timbs, took off his warm-ups, revealed he wore his father’s old Knicks jersey, and laced up his kicks. While his father held a ball and after a few run-ups to get his bearings about him, Anthony ran up, grabbed the ball out of his hands, and threw down a windmill for a 40.

https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/1495237461642862593

Anthony’s second attempt lacked the theatrics of his first dunk, opting to go on his own in a regular pair of sneakers. It very, very nearly paid off with one of the dunks of the night — Anthony threw himself a lob, tried to grab it with one hand while doing a 360, and throw it down. He struck out on all three attempts, though, and got a minimum 30 for his efforts.

Juan Toscano-Anderson: 44, 43 (87 total)

JTA needed a quick wardrobe change before his first dunk, as he threw on a Warriors uni featuring the colors of the Mexican flag — he was the first player of Mexican descent to ever compete in the competition. After getting a red, white, and blue ABA ball autographed by Julius Erving and grabbing Andrew Wiggins out of the crowd, Toscano-Anderson used his left hand to lift himself up over Wiggins while doing a one-handed windmill with his right, earning him a 44.

Toscano-Anderson kept the green, red, and white Warriors jersey on for dunk number two and got right down to business. Because he went third and didn’t need anything spectacular to get into the final ahead of Anthony and Green, JTA went with a 360 windmill for a 43.

Obi Toppin: 44, 46 (90 total)

Toppin missed his first attempt on his first dunk, but for good reason: The degree of difficulty was awfully high. The Knicks big man pulled someone from out of the crowd and ran in from midcourt, jumping over them while going behind the back and dunking with one hand for a 44.

Toppin needed a 39 to avoid elimination as the final dunker of the round, but didn’t opt for something conservative. The Knicks big man threw the ball of the backboard, caught it, went between the legs, and threw down a reverse with two hands for a 46 and a spot in the final round.

Final Round

Toscano-Anderson led things off in the finals but didn’t appear to get what he wanted. As a result, he threw down a pretty standard windmill for a 39.

Prior to his first dunk in the round, Toppin stressed that everyone had to watch the replay of what he was about to do. His first two attempts at something spectacular — a between the legs dunk where he tapped the ball off the backboard with one hand before dunking — didn’t quite work, but his backup was a pretty spectacular save, as he went off the backboard and between the legs for a 45.

Toscano-Anderson decided to end his evening paying tribute to Warriors legend and former dunk contest champion Jason Richardson by tossing on a throwback J-Rich jersey. He took up shop on the baseline and threw himself a lob, trying to catch it off the bounce, go between the legs, and dunk it backwards. Unfortunately, JTA was unable to convert and got a 30 as a result for a 69 on the round.

While he mathematically had things wrapped up heading into his final dunk, Toppin still went for something big. He did the dump he tried to do on his final attempt, getting a 47, a 92 on the round, and the title of dunk contest champ.

Ultimately, it’s hard to heap too much praise onto this competition — there were a whole lot of missed dunks that, in fairness, stemmed from over-ambition that never quite came to fruition. Still, Toppin was the unquestioned best dunker of the bunch, and will take the title of dunk contest champ with him back to New York.

The 2022 NBA Slam Dunk Contest was, well, let’s just say not great. Obi Toppin gave us some great dunks en route to a win, but didn’t finish a few of his best clean enough to earn 50s, while Juan Toscano-Anderson was solid but not spectacular early and fell off late, and Cole Anthony and Jalen Green both struggled with missed attempts as the contest dragged on into the night in Cleveland without presenting too many show-stopping moments.

The reaction from some of the legends and current players courtside told the story of the event, as they couldn’t hide their disappointment in all the misses and failed attempts.

The best, though, was Giannis Antetokounmpo who hilariously chastised Stephen Curry for his role in ruining the dunk contest by “changing the game” and making it so young players just launch threes instead of playing above the rim.

It’s a pretty hysterical moment and of all the complaints of Curry ruining basketball by making everyone want to shoot threes, this is easily the best one. Giannis’ comedic timing remains incredible and it was honestly a highlight of a dunk contest that produced very few beyond Obi Toppin. Now, one way to fix this would be for, you know, a star like Giannis to participate. I’m just saying.

After a Skills Challenge that leaned hard into doing something new and out of the box, the NBA used the second spot in its All-Star Saturday festivities for a longtime favorite, the 3-Point Contest. Thanks to a final round record 29 points, Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns managed to fend off Luke Kennard and Trae Young en route to a win.

Round 1

Luke Kennard: 28
Karl-Anthony Towns: 22
Trae Young: 22
Patty Mills: 21
CJ McCollum: 19
Desmond Bane: 18
Fred VanVleet: 16
Zach LaVine: 14

The story of the first round was Kennard, who got scorching hot from the top of the key and the final corner, where he parked his all-moneyball rack. As a result, the Los Angeles Clippers’ sharpshooter entered the final round with the top score of the bunch.

Joining him in the final round were Towns and Young, both of whom needed their final moneyball to earn a spot. The pair each took a moment to compose themselves before they let it fly — Young, in particular, took the last shot of the round with a spot in the final on the line. He took a breath, let it fly, and knocked Mills out of contention.

Final Round

Karl-Anthony Towns: 29
Trae Young: 26
Luke Kennard: 26

Towns started things off with a bang in the final round, hitting four of his shots on his all-moneyball rack and setting the bar awfully high for his other two opponents to have to clear.

A cold first rack for Young ultimately was his downfall. While the Hawks’ star caught fire towards the end of his run, Towns’ score was ultimately just a little too much. The same was true for Kennard, who ended with the same score as Young.

Towns’ final round was the best in the competition’s history, eclipsing his pal Devin Booker’s 28-point final round performance in 2018. He is the second player in Timberwolves history to win the competition, joining fellow big man Kevin Love in 2012.

The Taco Bell Skills Challenge went through quite the change this year, with a new team format that featured four separate events that were added together for the team’s total points. The teams were three rookies (Scottie Barnes, Cade Cunningham, and Josh Giddey), the Antetokounmpo brothers (Giannis, Thanasis, and Alex), and the Cavs (Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley).

They would compete in three competitions — shooting, passing, and a relay — before a halfcourt shootout for the title. The shooting competition opened with a solid rookie performance, a shaky effort from the Antetokounmpos, and then the Cavs dominating thanks to Evan Mobley and Darius Garland going off from three-point range.

After the Antetokoumpo brothers took a chaotic passing contest (this is probably the portion that needs the most work), they and the Cavs were tied with two events to go. In the relay, the Rookies won to advance to the finals, where a halfcourt shootout would decide the winner. As for who they would face, with the Cavs and Antetokounmpos tied, Garland and Thanasis went shot for shot from the top of the key to advance, and unsurprisingly Garland hit his first three to knock out the brothers.

In the halfcourt shot challenge, Cade Cunningham found the bottom of the net in just 9.9 seconds, setting the bar high for the Cavs to follow. Mobley had the answer though, drilling his first halfcourt shot to steal the prestigious Skills Challenge trophy away from his fellow rookies and keep the title for the hometown team.

It was an interesting change to the format, and really they should just do the relay (maybe add an extra pass) and the halfcourt shootout and tighten this thing up a bunch more. While it dragged on a bit, in the end they got to an entertaining finish and there were some genuinely cool moments as the home crowd erupted for the efforts of their Cavs.

A lot of hoopla was made late last year over a New Yorker profile of Jeremy Strong, whose incredibly dedicated, laser-focused working methods on Succession shocked many. Then there’s Tom Holland, who’s pretty committed himself. When he was first playing Spider-Man, he was okay not going to the bathroom as often as he perhaps needed to. For Uncharted, his latest chart-topper, he even went undercover as a bartender, all for a couple scenes towards the start of the film.

As caught by People, Holland made an appearance on SiriusXM’s Pop Culture Spotlight with Jessica Shaw, where he laid out his own, more fun methodology.

“For me, one of my favorite things about what we do for a living is when you get the opportunity to learn a new skill for a reason, other than you just want to give it a go,” Holland said. “So I went to a bartending school. I ended up doing a few shifts at this bar in London, which was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed it. And it’s a nice little set piece in the movie.”

But soon people started catching on that one of the most famous actors in the world right now was mixing drinks. “And then eventually I sort of got kicked out.”

He did wind up returning to his brief undercover gig. “I have been back to the bar, but it’s a little bit of a rocky relationship at the minute,” Holland added. “I’ve been giving them a lot of press though. So they just shut up and let me back.”

In Uncharted, Holland’s character is discovered by Mark Wahlberg’s adventurer at a Manhattan bar, where he flips bottles à la Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown in Cocktail and even claims to make a mean Negroni. Perhaps you were in London during his tenure and were lucky enough to have his spin on the classic beverage.

(Via People)